The Joy Hidden Within Yom Kippur Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander is President and Rosh HaYeshiva of Ohr Torah Stone Yom HaKippurim, the culmination of the Aseret Yemei Teshuva, is a multifaceted day. On the surface, the day is solely one of trepidation. We are told that Yom Kippur is a day of “v’initem et nafshoteichem”: and …
Can You Hear Me? Rabbanit Sally Mayer is the Rosh Midrasha of Midreshet Lindenbaum This audio shiur is given in memory of Tova Rhein, a”h Click to listen Download the source sheet Donate to the Tova Rhein Memorial Campaign
Torah essays to add meaning to your High Holiday experience “God Not Only Loves Us; He Needs Us!” – Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander “Rosh Hashana’s Mandate to Recreate the World” – Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Riskin “Throwing it All Away” – Rabbanit Sally Mayer “The Opportunity for Renewal” – Rabbi Eliahu Birnbaum “A Different Path to …
Throwing It All Away Rabbanit Sally Mayer is the Rosh Midrasha of Midreshet Lindenbaum’s Maria and Joel Finkle Overseas Program When I was a little girl, I remember walking down to tashlikh at the stream not far from where my family gathered every year for Rosh Hashana. I loved the idea of saying a few …
God Not Only Loves Us; He Needs Us! Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander is President and Rosh HaYeshiva of Ohr Torah Stone Often, we look at the High Holidays as a two-holiday event consisting of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. After all, it is only for these two holidays that we purchase High Holiday seats, adorn …
The Opportunity for Renewal Rabbi Eliahu Birnbaum is the Director of OTS’s Beren-Amiel and Straus-Amiel Institutes, which train couples to work as emissaries in Diaspora communities across the globe One of the most beautiful things about Judaism is that we are given a fresh start every year. New beginnings give us hope and the energy …
Rosh Hashana’s Mandate to Recreate the World Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Riskin is the Founder and Rosh HaYeshiva of Ohr Torah Stone “And [Nehemia] said to them, ‘Go, eat delicious foods and drink sweet beverages, and send portions to whoever has nothing prepared, for [Rosh Hashana] is holy to our Lord. And do not be sad, …
A Different Path to Teshuva: Why We Read the Book of Yonah on Yom Kippur Rabbanit Chamutal Shoval, a graduate of OTS’s Susi Bradfield Women’s Institute of Halakhic Leadership (WIHL), is the Ohr Torah Stone Scholar-in-Residence in North America and a Talmud teacher at Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School A deep examination of the Book of Yonah evokes many …
A Gate of Intentions for the High Holy Days Rabbi Sarel Rosenblatt is the Rosh Kollel of the Straus Kollel at the Joseph and Gwendolyn Straus Rabbinical Seminary We are now in the midst of the days of teshuva and tikkun; days of atonement, forgiveness and mercy; days of judgement and love; days of festivity …
Prayer as Atonement Rabbi Shlomo Walfish is a Ram (Rav Moreh) at OTS’s Robert M. Beren Machanaim Hesder Yeshiva The Mishnah in Baba Kama (Chapter 8, Mishnah 7) gives a summary of the compensatory damages that have to be paid by a person who injured or embarrassed his friend. The Mishnah goes on to say …
Four Approaches to Teshuva Rabbi Avi Bart is a shaliach of the Straus-Amiel Emissary Training Institute serving as the Assistant Rabbi of Blake Street Synagogue in Melbourne, Australia Eyes closed, face buried in your machzor; you stand in shul. Swaying gently in rhythm with the haunting melody of ונתנה תוקף ‘Let us voice the power …
Vows and Yom Kippur Avi Ganz is the director of the Elaine and Norm Brodsky Darkaynu Program for Men On the Eve of Yom Kippur or, what we often call “Kol Nidrei Night,” men, women, and children across denominational, cultural, and generational spectra join together in shuls to usher in the holiest day of the year: Yom …
